Cricket North: Riverside aim to keep top as Knights seek first win

Mowbray were the only game that got away as their coastal trip turned out to be a blessing in disguise against Wynyard, which avoided the rain which hampered Northern Tasmania.

Securing their first win of the season on the back of a terrific all-round performance by Ishang Shah, the Eagles are eager to keep the good times going against Ulverstone.

"I think Ulverstone have probably had the wood over us the last couple of years so I am looking forward to trying to right that wrong," Eagles' skipper Luke Scott said.

"First home game of the season, Invermay Park is a pretty special place to play any chance we get to play there."

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Mowbray will be forced into at least one change at selection with John Hayes suffering a broken finger in their last game and out for a few weeks.

South Launceston are out to secure their first win of the season as they find themselves at the foot of the table following the early rounds.

The Knights will welcome Latrobe to NTCA no.2, who have endured a similarly up-and-down start and are yet to win.

"We [haven't] got bowled out in those first two games but we did leave a lot of runs out there, we didn't have a set batter in the last ten overs," Knights' captain Sean Harris said.

"Our focus is to start strong with the bat but particularly those last ten overs is really key to posting a competitive total."

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The Knights are set to lose Angus Foster and Jeremy Jackson as Doug Ryan and James Leake come into the side.

Harris spoke glowingly of Fulton and Leake's potential in the Knights set-up.

"[Fulton] is a new guy to the club and we've given him plenty of opportunity and he's been really good ... he's a really smart cricketer," he said.

"[Leake] played in our round one side and bowled really well, one of our exciting talents back at the club."

Riverside are flying high early in the season to sit top of the standings despite being washed out last weekend.

"We're happy with the fact we've won a couple of games," Stubbs said

"The important thing now is to win all these coastal games because it gives you a massive advantage towards the end of the year as well."

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After missing last weekend, Patrick Mackrell is available for selection against Devonport.

Stubbs said the side was eager to stamp their home ground advantage against the coastal visitors.

"They play our ground really well, we've had a couple of games at Riverside where they've used our ground to their advantage and that's a focus for us," he said.

"Go into the contest and use what we have to our advantage rather than let them dictate terms.

Launceston are aiming to get back into winning ways as they make the trip up to Sheffield this weekend.

Lions' coach Andy Gower said the Lions had the upmost respect for their coastal opponent.

"Sheffield are a tough ask, they've got some quality players that have been around the track a long time, they've a very good opponent," he said.

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The Lions will welcome back James Lee in place of Cody Townend for the away fixture.

Gower is taking a big picture approach to solving the sides' batting puzzle.

"From a bowling perspective, we've been fantastic and I think we've executed well as a group and I certainly think we're on top of that side of the game," he said.

"I think our batting is a bit of a work in progress with the Raiders boys coming in and out so we're just trying to establish the best order for each individual.

"That'll just be tinkering and working with that over the next four to five weeks."

Westbury are another side making a trip away to the coast as they prepare to face-off against Wynyard this week.

"Realistically, I think we are shaping up really well with a slightly new group to what we've had in the last couple of years but we're mixing really well," Shamrocks' captain Daniel Murfet said.

"We're really looking forward to that because it gives us the opportunity to gel and hopefully we can go away and play some good cricket."

James Tyson, Jesse Digney and Jared Mason come into the side for Jordan French, Matthew Battle and Alex Jordan.

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